Xiaomi Mi Band 3 NFC Variant Availability Revealed

Xiaomi Mi Band 3’s NFC variant can be used to make contactless payments with Mi Pay and other apps

Xiaomi on Wednesday announced availability of the NFC-enabled variant of its Mi Band 3 wearable. This is an upgraded and slightly pricier model of the Mi Band 3 and was first announced back in May, alongside the regular variant, in the Chinese market. Key highlights of the Mi Band 3 include a capacitive touchscreen OLED panel, water resistance up to 5 ATM, a claimed battery life of up to 20 days, and three colour options to choose from.

Mi Band 3 NFC model has been priced at CNY 199 (roughly Rs. 2,100), and will be up for sale at 10am CST (7:30am IST) on September 19 via Xiaomi’s online store.

The new NFC (Near Field Communication) variant can be used to make contactless payments using Mi Pay and other apps in China, including payments for bus cards and subway tickets. The new variant is also compatible with non-Xiaomi smartphones. Additionally, Xiaomi in a Weibo post announced that the Mi Band 2 would get a special limited period price of CNY 99 (about Rs. 1,050) between September 19 and September 21 in China on Xiaomi’s online shopping portal.

In comparison, the regular variant of the Mi Band 3 is priced at CNY 169 (roughly Rs. 1,800) in China, and is currently available for purchase. The Xiaomi Mi Band 3 is compatible with devices running Android 4.4 or above, and the ones running iOS 9.0 or above. As before, this band can auto-unlock connected MIUI devices. Details around global pricing and availability of any variant of the Mi Band 3 have not been revealed yet.

Xiaomi Mi Band 3 NFC specifications

Xiaomi’s Mi Band 3 sports a 0.78-inch capacitive OLED display panel with a 128×80 pixel resolution. It is water resistance up to 50 metres, and the wearable has an improved pedometer when compared with the Mi Band 2. The display panel shows elements such as incoming calls, text message alerts, current time, steps taken, and heart rate.

The Mi Band 3 comes with a heart rate sensor (PPG), a triaxial accelerometer, sleep monitoring capabilities, and a 110mAh battery. Connectivity on the Mi Band 3 includes Bluetooth v4.2 LE as well as NFC. It weighs 20 grams including the strap.